Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties

Road commission plans move to Ironwood's industrial park

By RALPH ANSAMI

[email protected]

Ironwood — The Ironwood City Commission on Monday will discuss a notice of intent of the Gogebic County Road Commission to purchase about 13 acres in the industrial park for construction of a new main facility.

A letter to the city commission says all of the operations of the road commission, including offices for the administrative staff, would be located in the move from Bessemer to Ironwood.

The letter of intent says the road commission would pay $2,000 an acre for the property, which would be located off Liberty Street, between parcels owned by Xcel Energy and Basom Trucking.

The road commission would retain its present satellite garages in Watersmeet and Marenisco.

Material storage facilities, such as salt and sand barns, would be included as part of the full development in the industrial park.

Within 180 days, the road commission would be required to obtain an environmental site assessment, a certified survey map for the property and develop a site plan that would meet the approval of the planning commission.

The property would have to be developed within three years of the proposed sale.

According to the letter to be considered by the city commission on Monday, the deal would voided if the two parties don’t reach an agreement by Dec. 31. The letter ends by saying further negotiations will continue.

The road commission had previously planned to build new headquarters in Bessemer.

Last January, Bessemer’s planning commission heard plans from the road commission for a 46,000-square-foot facility that would cost around $4.7 million. The buildings were to be located on the south side of U.S. 2, on Bessemer’s west end. All of the road commission equipment was to be moved there.

There was opposition to that location on several fronts, however, leading to the choice of the Ironwood site.

The road commission will hold a public hearing on its proposed 2018 budget in its office in the Gogebic County Courthouse annex at Bessemer on Monday at 4:15 p.m.

The finance committee of the road commission meets at 4 p.m. Monday, followed by the budget hearing and regular meeting.

The Gogebic County Road Commission board includes Marti Wegner, chair, Watersmeet; Roy D’Antonio, vice chair, Watersmeet; John Matonich, Marenisco; Dan Peterson, Bessemer, and Kevin Haustein, Ironwood.